The Oldest Footage Of American Football

This awesome video shows the oldest surviving genuine archive footage of American football known to exist! The film shows a game between Princeton and Yale, way back in 1903, plus footage of University of Chicago taking on University Of Michigan in the same year. American football in it’s infancy!

Additionally, the video features a short clip of President Roosevelt and his entourage crossing the field in 1901. There doesn’ appear to be any other footage of that game.

American football started in 1869. On November 6 of that year Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams played the first recorded game using a mix of rules from rugby and soccer.

Walter Camp, a great proponent of the sport, later refined the rules to include eleven players and the idea of ‘downs’.